


A Dream Called Fate

by RunAwayForEternity



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff, Happy Ending, Light Angst, Lots of kissing, M/M, Red String of Fate, Reincarnation, Romance, Temporary Character Death, beomgyu makes fate his little bitch, but nobody dies permanently i promise you, cheesy flirting, crack and comedy, mentions of 'death', side yeonbin, taegyu love each other so much, the tags sound way more dramatic than it is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 06:40:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28952088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RunAwayForEternity/pseuds/RunAwayForEternity
Summary: "But mister, I don't see the other end of my red thread tied to anyone. Does that mean I don't have a special person?"The old man shook his head."You are a special case, my boy. You are a pure soul, and pure souls get to choose who they want.""Can I choose right now?" The dark haired boy asked, blinking cute lashes up at the old man."Who did you have in mind?" He asked the boy.The boy grinned big and bright. "I'm going to tie my thread right now!"Or in other words:Beomgyu and taehyun are tied together by the red thread. They love each other so much, that not even Fate can keep them apart.
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu/Kang Taehyun, Choi Soobin/Choi Yeonjun
Comments: 23
Kudos: 227





	1. As Many Times As It Takes

"what's that in your hand, mister?" The little boy asked in wonder, tilting his head to the side. His dark hair fell into curious and sparkling eyes.

All around them the rain continued to drizzle, drowning out the sounds of the rest of the world. 

The old man smiled down at the boy. His soul was always a curious and happy little thing. A "pure" soul is what he calls it, someone who brings warmth and comfort to others. 

Bending down to the little boy's height, he answered his question.

"it's called the red thread of fate," the old and wise man told him. Wrapped around his aged fingers was a long and red thread, the vibrant color contrasting with his white and weathered skin. "Have you heard of it?" He asked the boy.

The boy shook his head.

"The red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but it will never break," he told the little one. 

His eyes softened at the boy, and he reached for the boy's hand.

"See? Like this." And then he expertly tied one end of the red thread around the boy's little finger, knotting it nice and tight with a pretty bow. 

He stood back up, not minding the warm rain still softly landing on the both of them, drenching their clothes.

"This is your thread now. The person on the other end will be connected to you forever," the old man promised him.

The boy's dark hair curled adorably at the ends as they dripped raindrops onto the wet ground. He glanced at the string, then back up to the man.

A cute pout took shape on his plump lips. "But mister, I don't see the other end tied to anyone. Does that mean I don't have a person?" 

The old man shook his head. 

"You are a special case, my boy. You are a pure soul, and pure souls get to choose who they want."

The boy's lips fell open into an 'o' shape. 

"I get to choose?!" He said excitedly, swinging his hand around and watching the string float around his body. Despite the rain, it wasn't wet.

The old man laughed at his excitement, ruffling the boy's wet strands. "That's right, little one. Whoever you choose will be yours and only yours for all of time. You will be connected to one another. You will be soul mates. So choose wisely."

"Can I choose right now?" The boy asked, blinking cute lashes up at the old man. He put on his best pleading face that never failed to give him what he wanted. 

The old man looked at him in shock. "You want to choose right this minute?"

The boy nodded his head eagerly. It was a strange request, but not an unreasonable one. The old man thought that maybe this young and pure soul would wait, grow a bit older and mature before finally deciding. 

"Very well, I don't see why not-" 

The boy clapped happily, jumping a little.

"But I have to warn you, right now you're still a young soul. One day you will be reborn on this earth. If you choose now, you will not remember who the other person is. You will not remember this moment, and you will forget all about the red thread. Do you still want to choose?" It was common for souls to be tied together when they were much older, so that they were mentally and emotionally ready to separate and become reborn as people on earth. 

The boy again nodded his head.

"Are you _absolutely_ sure?" The old man asked once more. 

"Yes! I don't mind forgetting, as long as we are connected then I don't need to worry! You just said that we will be connected forever, right?" 

The old man nodded his head in confirmation.

"then it's ok!!" The young pure soul told him happily with a wide smile on his face.

He was an interesting little guy, that was for sure.

"Who did you have in mind?" The old man asked the boy. 

The boy grinned big and bright. "I'm going to tie my thread right now!"

The old man watched as the little one skipped away through the rain, splashing playfully into the puddles as he went. He was carefree and just so full of life. He would grow to become a beautiful soul on earth.

_ Whoever he chooses would be very unlucky. _

The boy approached the riverbank, sliding through the wet grass down near the edge.  His young heart skipped a beat as he found who he was looking for. 

He paused, a rare moment of quiet washing over him for a second as he stared at the person in front of him.

Suddenly he was nervous, his nimble fingers picking at the loose ends of his red thread. 

He watched the blonde boy in front of him bend down, sending off a paper boat across the surface of the water.

The warm summer rain continued to fall on them, the sounds of the droplets hitting the plants and trees creating a gentle noise in the background. It was peaceful and soothing to the little boy's world. 

Taking a deep breath, he finally mustered up his courage.

"where did you get that paper boat?" He asked the blond haired boy by the riverbank.  He walked closer to him, admiring the other's pretty lashes filled with droplets of rain. His eyes were wide and beautiful, and so full of intelligence. He could get lost in them forever.

"I made it myself," the other told him. He watched as the dark haired boy approached him.

"Why?" The pure-soul wondered. He was always full of curiosity.

"A paper boat is said to resemble one's journey crossing through life. I want to be reborn with a meaningful life filled with people I love and care about, so I sailed the boat across the water." 

"Wow, that's amazing! I hope it works!" The dark haired boy said, turning to watch the paper boat sail further down the water. 

"why are you here?" The other asked. 

Right, he's come here with a purpose. 

The dark haired boy gave his most sheepish grin, linking his hands behind his back and rocking on his heels in the squishy grass.

"Hold out your hand for me!" He demanded happily.

"why?" The blond haired boy asked suspiciously. But nobody could deny him what he wanted, and so he reluctantly held out his hand for the other to take. 

The dark haired boy immediately got to work.

He gripped the blond boy's little finger, and he hastily tied the loose end of his red thread round and round, knotting it and then making a cute bow to match his own. He stuck his little tongue out in concentration, his eyebrows scrunched up cutely.

"There!! All done!" He laughed with glee, swinging their hands back and forth, admiring the shimmering red thread as it sealed the two together forever. 

The blond looked down at it in confusion. 

"You're mine forever now!" The pure soul giggled, overly excited.

"R-really?" The blond haired boy asked, a slight flush spreading in his cheeks. Thankfully the rain hid it from the other. 

"Yep! I get to choose whoever I want, and I want _you!"_ The dark haired boy smiled at him, linking their pinky fingers together. 

But then suddenly, the pure souled boy took on a serious face. "We won't remember each other in our next lives, but don't worry, this thread can never be broken! We will always be connected no matter what!"

"oh," the blond haired boy said, unlinking his pinky with the other. For a second there, the pure souled boy thought the other didn't want to be with him, but then the blond boy connected their entire hands, intertwining their fingers tightly. "I would like that," he whispered.

The dark haired boy's heart skipped a beat.  He brought their joined hands up to his lips, kissing their linked pinky fingers softly as well as the back of the other boy's hand. The red thread was as strong as steel, never wavering.

"Good!" He giggled. "Now I want you to promise me, Kang Taehyun. You better make sure this knot never comes undone, you hear me?! If it does, I'm going to be really really mad!" He pouted childishly at the other.

Taehyun giggled, leaning forward and kissing the tip of the other boy's nose. 

"I promise you with all my heart, Choi Beomgyu, that I will never ever untie this knot around my finger. No matter how many lifetimes we may live, I will always be yours." 

~

Beomgyu leaned his forehead against taehyun’s, a smile on his lips. In the distance, a paper boat was floating down the sacred river of life. Where it will end up, nobody knows.

“Dont be so sad hyunnie. Getting reincarnated wont be that bad. Just think of it as a new adventure! You like adventures, right?”

Taehyun’s face was grim, but he nodded anyway. The raindrops dripped from his blond bangs and made him shiver slightly from the cold chill. Beomgyu noticed, and dragged him closer into his body even though he was just as soaked as taehyun. They were pressed tightly against each other, so close that there wasn’t a single centimeter of space to be found. 

“It will be alright, taehyun. I wont be too far behind you. Pretty soon ill be reincarnated too, and then ill find you and we can be together all over again. I promise,” beomgyu laughed, his warm breath hitting taehyun’s lips. Taehyun gripped beomgyu’s hand tighter, their intertwined fingers inseparable. 

Around their pinky fingers was the red thread of fate that beomgyu tied himself when they were small boys many years ago. They have been together ever since, waiting for the day they would mature and grow up and then be allowed to enter into the cycle of reincarnation, just like all of the other souls before them. 

Yeonjun and soobin already left a few months ago, probably living out their lives on earth now, waiting for the day they would meet again and be reunited. 

“I know...but im going to miss you so much. Do you think we will see each other right away?” taehyun muttered, leaning in slightly so that his lips were just barely touching beomgyu’s. He was silently pleading for beomgyu to shorten the remaining distance, but beomgyu didnt give in because he liked to tease.

“Im not sure hyunnie, but i will wait for you no matter how long it takes. As long as we are together again, then i dont care.” Then beomgyu finally couldnt take it anymore, leaning in and giving taehyun a quick kiss on the lips. They practically melted into each other, and beomgyu almost grumbled in disappointment when taehyun broke the kiss much earlier than he would have liked. Taehyun giggled at that. 

“Me too,” taehyun softly muttered against beomgyu’s lips, giving him light brushes over and over in-between his words. “As long as im with you, then i dont care either.” beomgyu smiled into the short kisses, making sure to tighten the arm that was wrapped around taehyun’s waist. 

The old man known as Fate chuckled. “Alright you two. Its time to break it up. Taehyun has to leave now and enter into the cycle of reincarnation.”

Beomgyu pouted at this, kissing taehyun a few more times before reluctantly letting the arm around taehyun’s waist drop. He stepped back from his soulmate, the space filling up between their bodies. However, he didnt let go of taehyun’s hand, not yet. 

Taehyun was equally upset. They have no idea how long it will be until they see each other again. And even when they do meet, it doesnt mean they will remember one another anyways. Every soul that is reborn forgets their memories of this time while in limbo. They both will be forced to start all over. 

Beomgyu and taehyun didn’t particularly mind starting all over again, but it is a little disheartening to learn that their childhood as souls in limbo will be lost. 

However, that is the price to pay for being reborn on earth. It is what all souls must do each time they start a life. 

Off in the distance, the huge lake where the river next to them connected began to glow a soft silver, like liquid metal. 

It was time. 

Taehyun finally let beomgyu’s hand go, his fingertips brushing and lingering against the other boy’s skin for just a moment longer. 

A sob caught in beomgyu’s throat, but he wouldnt dare let it out. This was supposed to be a joyful occasion. It was a special moment for a soul, to be chosen and reborn. It was what all of them wait for. Beomgyu will not make this a sad memory for taehyun. 

Taehyun began to walk towards the water’s edge. Beomgyu’s heart felt like it was being ripped out of his chest and trampled on with each step taehyun took away from him. His string glowed a vibrant crimson, taehyun’s favorite color, and beomgyu let the fact that they were still tied to one another be a small comfort to him. 

Beomgyu gulped when taehyun toed at the edge of the lake. Once he walks into it and submerges himself, he will be gone forever. Still, beomgyu will remain strong for his soulmate. This isnt the end, this is only the beginning for the both of them. 

Before taehyun could walk into the silver water, he looked behind him one last time. His lower lip trembled slightly, and beomgyu wanted nothing more than to run to him and gather him up in his arms and maybe kiss the hell out of him. 

But he made sure to keep his feet firmly planted into the wet grass many feet away from his soulmate.  He gave taehyun a watery smile that they both knew was fake, and he blinked away the raindrops that were making his eyes misty and blurry. Well...beomgyu was telling himself it was the raindrops. 

“Dont worry, hyunnie. Our thread is stronger than anyone else’s. It’s so strong that i just know all of the other souls are jealous of us. Our thread might get stretched out from the distance separating us, it might get tangled from the obstacles set before us in our paths, but it will never ever break,” he told the other boy. 

Taehyun sucked in a deep breath, his eyes clear and determined. He felt better being reminded of that. He could do this. 

It didnt go unnoticed… how his cold, wet, and trembling fingers reached out to grip his red thread that led back to beomgyu, and how he twisted his hand around it a few times, just in case. Beomgyu’s eyes crinkled at that as he smiled big, doing the same to his own end of the thread. It lessened the distance between them by just a few small centimeters, a foolish amount really, but it made them feel better anyways. 

“I love you,” taehyun told him. “Always have, always will.”

Beomgyu sucked in his breath. No matter how many times he hears it, he doesnt think he will ever get over the warm and exciting feeling he gets when taehyun lets himself be vulnerable and shows him his real feelings. Taehyun has always been a guarded and independent soul compared to beomgyu’s playful and almost childish outlook on life.

“I love you more,” beomgyu answered him, his teeth showing in a happy grin. He shamelessly blew taehyun a kiss, puckering his lips out in an embarrassing way.

Taehyun smirked, finally taking a step onto the surface of the lake.

“I doubt it,” he replied back to beomgyu confidently. And oh gosh, beomgyu’s heart just skipped a beat at that. 

Taehyun moved his other foot to join the first on the surface of the silver water. Being brave, he forced himself to memorize beomgyu’s pretty features one last time and then turned his head away so he could see in front of him. 

Beomgyu was so proud and happy. He was the luckiest soul in the world to have a soulmate like taehyun, and he never hesitates to let other souls know it. You can even ask yeonjun and soobin. Taehyun would argue that it was completely the other way around, but beomgyu wasnt having any of that. 

Beomgyu refused to say goodbye. Goodbyes were for people who are unsure of seeing each other again. He isnt one of them, and he never will be. 

So instead he said, “ill see you soon, hyunnie. Try not to have too much fun without me!” 

And he gave taehyun a little wave, just barely catching taehyun’s sarcastic chuckle from the center of the lake. 

The rain continued to beat down on both of them, until the very last second when taehyun held his breath and submerged under the silver water. Beomgyu didnt take his eyes away from the spot for many minutes, maybe even hours, after it was done. 

It was just him, Fate, and the gentle sound of the rain falling onto the leaves and trees all around him. 

Beomgyu sniffled, wiping his wet face even though it did no good. 

He smiled, turning around to face the old man, Fate. 

“Hey mister, taehyun is going to live a good life, i just know it. I cant wait for the day until-” but he stopped in mid-sentence when it wasnt the old man looking back at him. Instead it was a younger gentleman, maybe in his thirties or forties, wearing a suit and tie. Not a hair on his head was out of place, not a single drop of rain touched his otherworldly body. He looked regal and important. 

A shiver of apprehension ran down beomgyu’s spine at the sight of this man. This was also Fate, but his other form. 

Fate is a mysterious entity. It was commonly known among the souls about  _ both  _ of his forms. The compassionate form, the softer and more gentle of the two, was the old man. He was in charge of tying the red threads around the pinky fingers of each soul, matching them up as soulmates. It was a beautiful job, in beomgyu’s opinion, bringing happiness to everyone. He was the caretaker for the souls while they wait to be reborn. 

But then there was the other form. The younger version. He was more strict, slightly hostile, and less forgiving. Not many people get to see this form, because he rarely shows himself. If the old man was in charge of matching soulmates, then the younger was in charge of tearing them apart. 

The two forms of Fate were like two sides of the same coin. Fair but also Cruel. 

“W-what’s going on?” beomgyu asked, slightly confused. Why would this form of Fate be showing themself now? 

The cruel Fate smiled, and beomgyu wanted to smack the gesture from his lips. An uneasy, panicky feeling was rising in his chest and he didnt like it. 

Fate brought his hand up to his face, examining his nails without a care in the world. He didnt feel bad at all with the horrible feeling he was causing the other. 

“It truly is a shame. That boy is the unluckiest soul in the entire universe,” Fate chuckled. 

“Excuse me?” beomgyu replied, not quite understanding why Fate was being so cruel to him now when he’s been so loving towards him all these years. 

Fate finally looked into beomgyu’s questioning eyes, a patronizing grin being thrown back at him. 

“That soul is going to be harassed now through every life he is reborn in. His life span will be cut short each time he gets reincarnated. It doesnt matter how hard he tries to avoid it, his fate will be painful and heartbreaking.”

Beomgyu’s eyes widened in fear. “Why? What are you going to do to him?!” his voice was getting higher, more strained. His anxiety and stress levels were sky rocketing.

Fate laughed. “Me? Oh no, no, no. Dont blame his suffering and agony on  _ me. _ This is _ your _ fault.  _ You _ did this to him.”

Beomgyu stepped back in the grass like he just got slapped in the face. “Why is his fate my fault?” he whispered. 

Fate scoffed, rolling his eyes like he was running out of patience with the stupid questions. “You are a pure soul, my boy. The rarest of all the souls. Your soul has been untouched, untainted, the most beautiful. You are the only one of them that gets to hand pick your own soulmate. You get to choose anyone you want. The other souls would have lined up down the entire lake and river to be picked by you to be your soulmate. They would have killed each other, betrayed each other, stomped on one another to be the victor and have their life tied to yours. It is a great honor to be the soulmate of a pure soul.”

Beomgyu still wasnt understanding. “But none of that is necessary. I picked taehyun as my soulmate when we were children. I havent been available for a very long time, and i never will be available now...”

After the words left his mouth, beomgyu’s throat started to close up. He was beginning to understand where this conversation was going, and he thinks he was going to be sick. 

Fate giggled in glee at the look of horror on beomgyu’s face once he realized what is happening. He clapped his hands in joy. 

“I see you finally get it. Yes you are correct! You are not available now because taehyun takes up that spot. Now...if only taehyun wasnt in the way, then it would be easy to be your soulmate,” he tapped a finger on his chin, mocking beomgyu. “Your soul is so beautiful. It shines brighter than any other. And where there is brightness, darkness will soon follow. The more corrupt souls, the ones filled with hatred, greed, and jealousy, are attracted to how bright you are. They want to cling to you. You are their salvation, in a sense. They need taehyun out of the way, and so they will continue to go after him in each life that he lives. They will beat at your thread over and over, until it finally unravels and breaks. And then whoever becomes the victor will cruelly tie that broken and withered end to their own finger, without a single shred of remorse. It will be a never ending hunt for the destruction and elimination of your soulmate taehyun. Its quite a beautiful threat, isnt it?” Fate sighed dreamily. 

Beomgyu was frozen in his spot, his eyes stinging and watering at the horrible fate he just gave to taehyun. In a sense, taehyun is his personal human shield, blocking all of the other souls from touching him. 

And to him, that was terrifying. 

"That's so unfair," beomgyu finally whispered, unable to say much else. 

Fate smiled at him, his eyes shining. "That's the price you pay for being a pure soul. Nobody else can compare to how precious you are. It really is unfair to  _ you _ to have to be stuck with such an ordinary and old soul like taehyun. Are you sure you dont want someone better? You have the ability to choose whoever you want once your thread is free on the other end." Then he shrugged. “If i were you, i would let the dark souls do as they please and break your thread, then just choose another soul. Someone more competent and worthy of your caliber.” 

Did he just-?!

How  _ dare _ he?!! 

His harsh words snapped beomgyu into action, the adrenaline racing through his veins. 

Beomgyu glared at Fate, no fear in his eyes. He was the first soul to show such disrespect to a being as great as Fate. Ignoring Fate’s criticism of taehyun, he growled at the otherworldly entity. "No, not for me. It's unfair for  _ taehyun. _ If I had known, I never would have tied my thread around his finger. He deserves someone better than me. I would rather live an eternity of loneliness than make him suffer an eternity with me." 

Fate's smile fell, shock all over his face. 

Beomgyu turned his back to Fate, staring down into the surface of the water. His mind was made up. "I'm going to make this right. I'm going to save him."

Fate started to panic a little, his perfect composure finally breaking. "You can't do that. If you enter into the water before its your time, then who knows what could happen to you once you are reborn on earth! The cycle of reincarnation will be incomplete and you may be fragmented, imperfect, _splintered!"_

"I don't care. You should have thought of that before mocking my taehyun,” beomgyu said petulantly. “We are connected, aren't we? You told me that when I was little. This thread can stretch and tangle, but it will never ever break, and i will damn well make sure of it!" Beomgyu threatened back. 

He loves taehyun with all of his heart. He will save taehyun from this horrid fate he gave him if its the last thing he does here in this universe. 

He stepped a foot onto the surface of the water, ripples extending out from where he connected. The lake wasnt supposed to ripple, it was supposed to be smooth like glass. Beomgyu was forcing it to glow again, to make it reincarnate him before it was ready to accept his soul. Something like this has never been done before, no soul has ever attempted to mess with reincarnation. 

Beomgyu didnt care. 

"You are the most foolish soul i have ever met. Why can't you just accept that Taehyun was destined to suffer the moment you tied your thread to him? The cycle will never end as long as he is connected to you. Just how many times do you plan on saving him?" Fate asked him.

Beomgyu smirked, his eyes glinting with a fierceness and stubbornness that rivaled no other's. His other foot stepped out onto the silver water, and once he walked to the center of the lake, he turned back and he stared at Fate directly in the eyes, silently daring the otherworldly being to go ahead and try to stop him. 

"As many times as it takes," he replied, his voice never wavering. 

And then Beomgyu forcefully plunged himself through the silver water's surface, the lake's water droplets shattering and suspending in air all around him like pieces of crystal and glass. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here are my twitter and cc in case you guys wanna talk or leave thoughts/opinions!  
> @eternitxt03  
> curiouscat.me/eternitxt03


	2. It Was Just Another Nightmare

Beomgyu gasped awake from his sleep, sweat dripping from his skin and dampening his hair. He was breathing heavily, his heart beating wildly in his chest and his pulse racing at the speed of light.

He tried to calm himself down and suck in lungfuls of air. Gripping his tshirt, he fanned himself to help cool his neck and face, silently cringing at how drenched and wet his shirt was. 

Another nightmare. Another night with no sleep. 

His eyes adjusted to the darkness as he looked around his dorm room, trying to get his bearings and blink away the fog of sleep that left him feeling drowsy and sluggish. 

He swung his feet over the edge of the bed and placed them on the carpet as he gathered his head in his hands. His heart was still racing and beating frantically in his chest. 

He doesnt know what his nightmare was about, but he gets them frequently. ‘Night Terrors’ they called them. There was no other explanation for the excruciating fear that shakes him awake from his sleep each and every night. He cant even remember what he was dreaming about, all he knows is that he wakes up with this horrible feeling that he was about to lose something important to him. 

Once his breathing returned to normal and he shook away the fear, he stood up. Across the room was his university roommate, Choi Soobin, snoring peacefully in his bed. That guy could sleep through a hurricane and never once wake up, and oftentimes beomgyu envies him for that. 

Still, he silently made his way to their shared mini fridge and pulled out a bottle of water, chugging half of it in one go. Next he dug around in his drawer and pulled out a clean shirt, making his way to the bathroom to rinse off his face and change. 

Yep, just like every other night before this, he was going to be wide awake and unable to sleep. 

~

“And then I decided to join the soccer club! Isn't that great?! Hello? Beomgyu, are you even listening to me?” yeonjun huffed next to his friend. He was sitting up backwards on top of the long desk in the lecture room, swinging his legs and babbling non stop before the biology class began. They were seated towards the very top and back of the room, everyone slowly filling in as the minutes ticked by. There were about 200 students in total in this class. 

“Mhmm, sure,” beomgyu answered him, preoccupied with the papers on the desk in front of him. He had a devilish smirk on his lips. “Hyung, you aren't even good in soccer, why the hell would you join the team?” beomgyu questioned him. His nimble fingers were busy folding a piece of paper over and over. 

Yeonjun pouted, but the gesture was lost on beomgyu who wasn't looking at him. “I know I'm not that good! Which is why i joined! So that i could learn silly~” yeonjun argued cutely, blowing some of his pink hair out of his eyes. He watched beomgyu finally finish playing with the piece of paper, curious on what he was going to do with it. He’s come to learn quickly that beomgyu was very unpredictable. 

“Whatever hyung. You might be fooling everyone else, but you aren't fooling me. You only joined the soccer club because the field is right next to the psychology building where soobin spends his afternoons tutoring the first years,” beomgyu snickered, calling out his hyung. He poked the pointy end of his paper onto his fingertip, testing out the durability. Perfect. 

“So what!” yeonjun yelled at him, not even bothering to shamefully lie or come up with an excuse. “He’s absolutely gorgeous, have you  _ seen _ those legs? And his hair,” yeonjun sighed, bringing a hand up to cup his cheek dreamily. “Whenever he brushes it back and shows his forehead, I just melt a little inside. ‘Whipped for soobin’ is my middle name,” yeonjun gushed excitedly. Beomgyu rolled his eyes. Yeonjun always gets like this whenever soobin is mentioned. The boy has it pretty bad. 

“Uh huh, that's great hyung, why don't you go and gush about soobin to your roommate hyuka? I have better things to do,” beomgyu humored him.

Then he grinned evilly, excitement and joy sparkling in his eyes. 

Beomgyu took the paper plane he had been making for the past minute or so, and closed an eye, getting ready to aim. He found his target, and then with all his strength he threw the paper plane right at him. 

The pointy paper plane didn't have to go far, only literally 2 feet in front of him to the next row of desks down below. And his aim was perfect. It slammed right into the back of the blond boy’s head, the pointy end right where he wanted it to go. 

Yeonjun watched as the kid in front of them grunted when the paper hit him, lifting his head up from the textbook he was reading, and then turning around to glare at beomgyu. Yeonjun sighed, not even surprised. He should have guessed that was what beomgyu was up to. 

It was beomgyu’s personal mission, since the start of the school year, to piss off Kang Taehyun, the smartest kid in all the classes. Since beomgyu basically declared himself as taehyun’s enemy, for no reason at all, they have always been going at it in every class they share. 

“Would you stop tormenting taehyun already? Who even throws paper airplanes anymore?” yeonjun told him. 

Beomgyu sat back in his seat, smiling at taehyun and acting the innocent bystander that taehyun knows he isn't. 

“Hiya hyunnie! Did you need something?” he asked nonchalantly while adjusting his hood over his hair. 

Taehyun picked up the paper plane on the floor next to his feet, looked beomgyu dead in the eyes, and then crushed the plane into his fist. “Knock it off beomgyu. And that’s not my name, quit calling me that,” he said in a calm and monotone voice, like he was scolding a child. 

“I don't know what you mean,” beomgyu pouted, lying through his teeth. 

Taehyun chose to be the mature one and ignore him, turning back around and resuming his studying. 

Beomgyu frowned. He took his pen, aimed once again, and let go. 

“Oof!” taehyun said once the pen hit the back of his head. He shot back around at beomgyu, this time slight anger showing on his face. “Really? A pen?” he asked. 

“Whoops, my pen slipped. Can you get it for me, hyunnie?” beomgyu pleaded, batting his pretty lashes at taehyun. 

“No,” taehyun said, turning back around and leaving the pen on the floor. 

Beomgyu snickered, no doubt taehyun being able to hear him. Then he reached over and stole yeonjun’s highlighter that was out on the desk next to them. Yeonjun saw where he was going with this and tried to grab his highlighter before it was too late. 

But beomgyu was quicker. 

“Ready, aim, shoot!” beomgyu cheered, throwing the highlighter at full force to taehyun’s head. 

Taehyun grit his teeth, his temper finally coming to the surface. He picked up the pen and highlighter, then spun around super fast, the writing utensils flying at the speed of light right for beomgyu’s face. Beomgyu’s eyes widened, and he laughed as he ducked, just managing to miss the dangerous attack. 

“Beomgyu you better stop or else-” taehyun began to threaten, seconds away from throttling the older boy. Choi Beomgyu has been his school bully now since they met in the beginning of the year a few months ago. For some reason beomgyu has made it his mission to pick on him and him only. Taehyun didn't even do anything! 

Beomgyu leaned forward so that their faces were within inches of each other. “Or else what?” beomgyu hummed, looking at taehyun prettily through his dark bangs. 

Taehyun momentarily forgot his threat, his breath inaudibly catching at seeing beomgyu up so close. Despite the other boy being extremely irritating and annoying and the bane of his existence, taehyun can’t help but be attracted. It was common knowledge that beomgyu was absolutely stunning, when he wasn't hiding his face behind dark wavy bangs and his hood up almost the entire time. 

“Got nothing to say?” beomgyu taunted, snapping taehyun out of his daze. 

“Or else im going to beat your ass,” taehyun threatened somewhat weakly. He could do better than that, he always had a snarky comeback on the tip of his tongue. He would have had the upper hand if only his stupid heart wasn’t pounding loudly in his ears. 

“Alright everyone, quiet down!” the professor shouted into the large lecture hall. 

Taehyun took that as his cue to drop his gaze from beomgyu’s eyes and spin back in his seat, preparing to listen to the lecture very closely. 

Beomgyu blew out a raspberry, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms over his chest. 

Stupid professor ruining the stupid moment. 

~ 

Yeonjun huffed, his back aching and sweat dripping down his face. He glared up at the sun momentarily, trying to will it away since it was beyond hot outside. 

The occasional shouts and grunts of other boys on the field could be heard, but he was too busy scanning the windows to the building across from the fence, hoping to catch an impossible glimpse of the students inside. 

“Yeonjun, pay attention!” someone shouted, another soccer club member that yeonjun couldn't be bothered to remember the name for. 

“Huh?” yeonjun said, turning at the last minute and getting smacked in the chest with a soccer ball. He lost his footing and landed on his back with a groan. “Ow, what the fuck?” he swore.

A fellow club member chuckled, running over and looking down at yeonjun’s face. He happened to be the captain.

“I cant tell if you actually suck at playing, or if you are just busy lost in thought. Now quit posing on the field with that pretty face of yours and actually try to learn how to play soccer,” the captain flirted with a side smile. He held out a hand for yeonjun to take, hoisting the boy up easily back onto his feet. 

“This field should be honored to have me walk on it,” yeonjun said shamelessly, wiping away some of his sweat and the grass from his face and hair. 

“Yeah, yeah, now get moving,” the captain laughed, swatting yeonjun’s ass in front of everyone. 

Yeonjun moved forward, starting to walk back to the formations they were in for the drills. “Hey! Not just anybody is allowed to touch my ass! Hands off!” he laughed, but he was also serious. 

“Oh? And what kind of person is allowed that special privilege?” the captain wondered, following yeonjun back to the other side of the field. 

“Someone tall, dark haired, and handsome,” yeonjun said with a wistful look on his face. “Which isn't you at all,” he scrunched up his nose, sticking his tongue out at the captain. No one else dared to talk to their captain like that, but then again, yeonjun always did what he wanted. 

While the two bickered, it would have been impossible to catch the small frowns from a psychology student and the first year he was currently tutoring on the bench near the front entrance of the building next to the soccer field. 

~

“What are you doing?” taehyun asked, slamming his locker door shut. He just finished his daily workout and is now showered and dressed. 

“Shut up taehyun, you are always bothering me,” beomgyu shushed him, digging through a locker that was a few down from taehyun’s. Taehyun can confirm that it was most definitely _ not  _ beomgyu’s locker. He didn't even have one in the boy’s locker room. The only sport that beomgyu plays in is called 'sleeping from noon to night'.

“I literally just asked you a simple question. A valid one, since i happen to know you are going through yeonjun’s locker, probably without his permission,” taehyun said, leaning against the locker that was near yeonjun’s. Beomgyu was bent down, his head sticking in the locker and rummaging through yeonjun’s belongings. 

Then Beomgyu popped his head out, giving taehyun a mischievous smirk. “You’re right, it _ is _ yeonjun’s locker. I'm going to replace his cool athletic pants i know he happened to buy so that his legs look ‘longer and sexier’ with these short flowered ahjumma pants.”

Taehyun rolled his eyes. “That is literally so stupid and childish,” he commented in a judging tone. 

Beomgyu laughed, his eyes scrunching up brightly. “Yes it is! But i also want to see the look on yeonjun’s face when he’s forced to attend astronomy club in like 35 minutes and realizes he’s going to look like a total fool in front of soobin.”

“Doesn't he have a major crush on soobin hyung?” taehyun asked, slightly interested now. 

“Absolutely,” beomgyu snickered. 

“Isn't that kind of mean?” taehyun doesn't understand why beomgyu is always teasing people and causing chaos. 

Beomgyu scoffed at him. “Come on, its just an innocent prank. Soobin hyung is already madly in love with yeonjun, so it literally doesn't matter. Plus, yeonjun is the only person i know who could wear a trashbag and still look good.”

“Not the only person,” taehyun muttered quietly. 

“So, are you with me or not?” beomgyu laughed, not hearing taehyun’s comment. 

“You are the most annoying and bothersome person i have ever met…” taehyun trailed off and beomgyu waited patiently with shining eyes. “But hell yeah im in,” he smirked. 

Beomgyu clapped in joy as taehyun crouched down next to him, looking for yeonjun’s pants. He will be out of the shower momentarily so they had to be fast. 

“Ok, i got the pants exchanged, now we just need to hide the good ones somewhere,” beomgyu whispered to taehyun. They had to be quiet in case someone else was in the locker room. 

“You can use my locker,” taehyun offered. He laughed briefly at the angelic look beomgyu gave him. 

“We are the perfect partners in crime, hyunnie,” beomgyu sniffled, wiping away a fake tear. Taehyun snorted and stood up. 

Then they quickly locked yeonjun’s locker back up, threw his pants into taehyun’s locker, and froze at the sounds of footsteps coming closer to this side of the lockers. 

“Shit! I think that’s him!” beomgyu whispered. He searched around them in panic, trying to find a way out. 

“Here, follow me,” taehyun whispered back, reaching for beomgyu’s hand and pulling him around the corner to another set of lockers. He mercilessly shoved beomgyu into a small space where the two sets of lockers met, and then crammed himself in there too. Yeonjun wouldn't be able to see them unless he turned the corner, so as long as he stays at his locker and then leaves they will be safe from his wrath. 

The space was super tight and cramped, but beomgyu’s heart was racing too frantically from the possibility of getting caught to notice taehyun’s body pressed against his. They continued holding hands, and beomgyu’s arm went around taehyun’s waist to help keep him balanced. 

They both held their breaths as they heard yeonjun opening his locker. Then a few moments later he gasped in horror, no doubt seeing the purple flowered ahjumma pants. 

“What the fu- who the hell went through my locker?!” yeonjun screeched at nobody. Well, maybe some jocks on the other side of the huge locker room could hear him, but that wasn't important right now. 

_ “Beomgyu,” _ yeonjun hissed, slamming his locker door shut with a loud bang. Beomgyu flinched next to taehyun, almost groaning at the world of pain he is going to suffer later when yeonjun manages to find him. 

And he will, oh he will.

They both continued to stay in place, even after yeonjun stomped off and left. It was better safe than sorry, in case he came back for something. 

“I think the coast is clear now,” taehyun whispered, breathing against beomgyu’s lips. He turned his head to face beomgyu and then paused. 

His breath stuttered slightly, but he tried to cover it up as best he could. Beomgyu was staring at him so intensely, his gaze dropping down to taehyun’s lips. His eyes were half lidded, and his arm around his waist felt like a scorching brand. 

What would it be like to feel beomgyu’s fingers against his bare skin instead of his hoodie being in the way?

“Mhmm, probably,” beomgyu hummed with no intentions of moving. Taehyun just fit so perfectly in his arms, and he didn't feel like letting go. He leaned in closer, their foreheads almost touching, their lips just barely brushing. Beomgyu wanted to taste him so badly, to connect his lips to taehyun’s skin and maybe scrape his teeth down his neck and-

Taehyun lifted up their joined hands, studying them closely. When did they intertwine their fingers? 

Why do his fingers fit so perfectly in between beomgyu’s? 

Instead of kissing taehyun’s lips like they both wanted, beomgyu leaned his head over towards their hands. He brought them up to his mouth and softly kissed the back of taehyun’s hand, giving taehyun a heated look. Taehyun’s heart melted at that and he wanted _more._

Beomgyu flicked his gaze down to their joined hands, admiring how pretty taehyun was, even in something as simple as this. 

But then he froze. 

And his heart hurt so very much at what he saw. At what he  _ remembered.  _

There, tied around their pinky fingers, was a red thread.

He snapped his gaze back to taehyun’s with wide watery eyes. Taehyun must have realized it too, because he also gave beomgyu the same look. 

Beomgyu lurched forward to connect their lips desperately, just brushing taehyun’s bottom lip when-

~

Beomgyu gasped awake from his sleep, panting heavily. He just had another nightmare, but he couldn't remember what it was about. He almost felt like crying, an unwanted tear managing to slip out of the corner of his eye. He hastily wiped it away. 

It was useless crying over something he couldn't remember anyways. 

He let out a deep and shuddering breath.

Rolling over he searched for his phone to check the time. He cringed in the darkness when the numbers read it was well past 5am. He barely had two hours left to sleep before he had to be up for his 8am class. Sighing, he tossed his phone aside and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, stepping down into the carpet. 

Soobin was still snoring softly from across the room. This was a nightly occurrence for beomgyu, and he still tried to be mindful not to wake soobin up. They have been rooming together for a while now and soobin is well aware of beomgyu’s nightmares and insomnia. More times than beomgyu would like to admit, soobin is there for him to hold him and spend time with him on nights when it gets really bad. 

Thankfully, the ache in his chest, the suffocating feeling that relentlessly buries itself deep, isn't as bad today. So he drank some water and continued on with his day. 

~

“Shit come on soobin! I totally forgot we had calculus homework due today! Let me copy yours, pleaseeeeee!” beomgyu begged.

Hueningkai snorted, turning in his seat to stare at the two roommates making so much noise in the back of the classroom. “You seriously want to borrow  _ soobin _ hyung’s homework? This is a first year math class and he’s a third year!” 

Soobin kicked hueningkai’s chair in retribution. “First of all, math is for losers. Why must we do math by hand when we have calculators to do it for us?” he sniffed. “Second of all, joke’s on you gyu, i didn't do my math homework either. So we both are gonna fail together.” 

“Ugh you are literally worthless in every way possible. Hyuka! Just lemme copy yours then, the professor will be here in like, 10 minutes!” beomgyu wailed. “Hyuka, pretty please?” he batted his cute lashes over at the younger boy. It has never failed to give him what he wanted. 

“Hell no. Seeing a second year and third year student crash and burn in a first year math class is my enjoyment and entertainment for the semester,” hyuka snickered behind his hand. 

Damn, the lashes didn't work.

“Awww my little gum. I know you would be lonely and miserable if i wasn't here to keep you company. Can you let hyung borrow your homework just this once?” soobin cooed, leaning forward and brushing his nose against hyuka’s. 

Hueningkai flushed slightly at that, laughing and pushing soobin away. “Ok fine, but both of you cant copy. Sorry beomgyu hyung, you are gonna have to get your answers from someone else.”

“Argghhh ok, fine, desperate times call for desperate measures,” beomgyu muttered, cracking his neck and knuckles.

“What are you going to do-” soobin began to say, but beomgyu ignored him, getting up from his seat and scanning the room. 

There.

His eyes stopped on the back of a blond head who was bent down over his desk and playing on his phone. Beomgyu grinned evilly. He smoothly walked around the desks and started to approach the unaware student. 

Taehyun jumped in his seat when a hand slapped across his desk in front of him. A familiar face leaned down in front of his own, and warm breath hit his lips as he looked up into piercing dark brown eyes. 

“You’re the smartest kid in our lecture, aren't you? If you don't let me copy your homework, i will not hesitate to trip you and take your homework anyways,” beomgyu tried to sound threatening. 

Taehyun merely raised his brow, challenge accepted. 

“No,” he told the other, going back to his phone. 

Damn, beomgyu thought for sure his bully tactics would work on the pretty blond. 

“Ok how about this. If you let me copy your homework just this once, i wont bother you anymore,” he tried again.

Taehyun snorted. “I doubt it,” he told him, his eyes cocky and arrogant, and his lips quirked up into an amusing smirk that beomgyu just wanted to slap away. 

“Come on, please! I'm begging you here man, cant you help a fellow classmate out?!” beomgyu whined, switching tactics again. Maybe if he kicked up a big enough fuss, taehyun will give in. 

He batted his pretty lashes at the other boy, again, knowing the look has never failed to give him what he wanted. 

It seemed to do its job, because taehyun was momentarily dazed, watching and memorizing beomgyu’s face from so up close. 

“My homework isn't free,” taehyun managed to say, his eyes locking with beomgyu’s. For some reason, a heavy air of attraction settled between the two, and taehyun didn't miss the way beomgyu’s gaze flicked down to his lips. 

“Name your price,” beomgyu said softly, distracted by the way taehyun quickly licked his dry lips. 

Oh no. Taehyun needs to get out of here. The air was getting too hot, his fingers aching to grip onto beomgyu and dig into his smooth skin-

“On second thought, never mind-” taehyun said, backing away from his seat and opting to leave. 

Beomgyu wasn't going to let him go that easily. Without thinking, he reached out and gripped taehyun’s hand. “Oh no you don't, i still need that homework-”

“Mr. Choi, Mr. Kang, i will not tolerate fighting in this class. You can take it out into the hall,” the professor interrupted them, making the both jump. When did the professor arrive? 

“We weren't-” taehyun tried to defend them both, but he was cut off when the professor glared and pointed at the door. Wordlessly, they both gathered their things and walked out. Soobin gave beomgyu a look of worry before he exited the door, slamming it shut behind them with a bang. 

“Great, thanks a lot,” taehyun sighed, running a hand through his hair. 

“I literally only grabbed your hand. He made it seem like i was going to jump you or something,” beomgyu grumbled, slumping against the wall. 

“Weren’t you?” taehyun challenged. 

Beomgyu snorted, swinging his head over to taehyun and giving him a lopsided smirk. “Not the kind of jumping the professor was probably thinking of,” he said to taehyun shamelessly. 

Taehyun almost choked on his own spit and looked away quickly. “Quit fooling around,” he muttered. 

“I wasn't fooling around, though,” beomgyu whispered, standing up straight and walking closer next to taehyun. Taehyun held his breath, watching and anticipating what beomgyu was going to do next. 

Beomgyu stopped within centimeters from taehyun, reaching up to trace his face. His fingertips shakily skimmed over taehyun’s cheek and down his jaw, then over towards his lips. Taehyun leaned up and closer to the touch, his breathing coming out in small pants while beomgyu separated his bottom lip with the tip of his finger. 

“Why do i want to kiss you right now?” beomgyu wondered out loud. His heart was racing and he needed  _ more.  _

“What’s stopping you from kissing me?” taehyun asked him back, and beomgyu could feel the question on his finger.

“Absolutely nothing,” beomgyu replied, a bright grin on his face. 

He leaned in and angled his head, brushing his lips softly against taehyun’s, swallowing the pretty sigh that left the younger boy. His hand held onto the back of taehyun’s head and his other hand reached down to interlock their fingers. 

Beomgyu didnt even care that they were in the middle of the hallway, possibly visible to anyone who bothered to walk past. He glanced down at his hand that fit into taehyun’s perfectly.

And then…

_ He remembered again.  _

His eyes widened and he snapped his gaze to taehyun’s. Taehyun noted the alarm in them, and was momentarily confused, until beomgyu lifted their hands up into the air, and he too _saw_ it.

The red thread, wrapped around their fingers securely. 

Taehyun sucked in a breath, and wrapped his other arm around beomgyu’s shoulders and neck, reaching up to kiss him hard on the lips.

His lips tasted beomgyu’s for just a second and then-

~

“Hey, gyu. Gyu? Wake up, you’re having a bad dream,” a whisper said into his ear. He felt someone shaking him gently on the shoulder, which was the final thing he needed to pull him from his sleep.

Beomgyu’s eyes opened abruptly, making soobin step back a little from being startled. 

Beomgyu’s chest was heaving with pants and he looked around him. He was in his dorm room, the sky still dark. Soobin was bent over him by the side of his bed, a look of worry on his face. 

“Shh, its ok gyu. It was just another nightmare. You are here with me now,” soobin tried to say softly, calming the younger boy down. 

Soobin’s compassion must have been the breaking point, because his eyes started to water and sting. He tried really hard to blink the tears away, but was unable to hide a few that escaped from the corners of his lashes. 

“Oh gyu, don't cry. Was it a really bad dream?” soobin asked, pushing some of beomgyu’s hair off of his sweaty forehead. 

Beomgyu sniffled, shaking his head. 

“I don't remember,” he whispered to soobin in the dark room. 

“Then why are you crying?” 

Beomgyu stared at soobin with wide and scared eyes. 

“I don't know,” he answered. “I'm just really really sad.” 

~

Beomgyu chuckled joyfully to himself as he kicked the seat in front of him. 

The person with blond hair ignored beomgyu’s antics, trying to will the other boy away. 

But beomgyu wasn’t anything if not persistent. He continued to periodically kick the seat as he casually talked with yeonjun. 

“And then i decided to join the cooking club. I figured it was time to broaden my kitchen skills. Don't you think that's a good idea gyu?” yeonjun babbled next to him. 

Kick.

“Hyung, who do you think you are fooling? You only joined the cooking club because I told you soobin was in it this semester. Can you even cook?” beomgyu asked. 

Kick.

Yeonjun looked insulted. “Can i  _ cook? _ I'm not totally helpless, unlike you,” yeonjun shot back. “Hyuka, tell him!” 

The first year looked up from his game on his phone. “It's true! Hyung cooks me stuff all the time,” he said cheekily, grinning cutely at beomgyu. Yeonjun cooed at the look, pinching hyuka’s cheeks. 

“My little ningning is going to help me nab soobin’s heart, aren't you?” yeonjun asked cutely in a baby voice. 

Hyuka pinched yeonjun’s cheeks back, “not if i get it first,” he said back with the same baby voice. 

“Would you two stop flirting already?” beomgyu rolled his eyes, scribbling a bit on his notebook in boredom. 

Kick.

“Soobin hyung already baked me a lemon cake. What did  _ you _ get?” hyuka stuck his tongue out at yeonjun, bragging. They both totally ignored beomgyu.

“I got a chocolate cookie,” yeonjun bragged back. 

“Those cookies were just experimental. He wanted to make sure he wouldn't poison me first and used you as a guinea pig,” hyuka defended with a pout. 

“Well i'm going to be spending all my time with soobin after classes every single wednesday and friday, so hah!” yeonjun stuck his tongue out in retaliation. 

That got hyuka’s attention for a second. “Wait, you aren't going to be home for wednesday and friday?” he said sadly. They were roommates since hyuka entered university last semester and have been best friends, maybe more than best friends, ever since. 

“I mean, well, yeah…” yeonjun trailed off, his heart breaking at the look hyuka had on his face. “If you want to wait for me after club activities are over with, i wouldn't mind. Or maybe if the club members don't care, you can chill in the back of the room while we cook?” 

Hyuka’s face brightened up at that, and he was so overjoyed. “Sure! I don't have anything else to do anyways!”

Yeonjun’s eyes scrunched up at the adorable look on hueningkai’s face, and he reached over to pat his head and fix his hair. 

Beomgyu sighed at their antics. He honestly was so confused with their relationship, but could care less. Not when he has his eye on another person to distract himself. 

Kick. 

The blond boy had enough, and hastily grabbed his things and moved to the other side of the lecture room. Their chemistry class was really large, holding close to 100 people, and beomgyu was oddly disappointed when he was separated from the other by all of the students filing in for their 2 hour class. 

Yeonjun stopped giving hyuka his undivided attention to glance over at beomgyu who became quiet. It was never good when beomgyu was silent.

“You know…” he began carefully. “If you like that Kang Taehyun so much, then why don't you, i don't know, try flirting with him instead of harassing him for his attention? Just a suggestion,” yeonjun said sarcastically. Hyuka snorted at that, leaning over to pat yeonjun’s belly. Honestly, that kid could get away with literally anything. Yeonjun and soobin seemed to think he was the most adorable thing in the world. 

“Please, like your cheesy pick up lines you always throw at soobin could possibly help me get the attention of someone like Kang Taehyun,” beomgyu scoffed. “Not even soobin falls for it, and he’s the most gullible person i know.” 

“And cute!” hueningkai threw out there in the background. Yeonjun nodded in agreement. 

“Hyuka, you have excellent taste in men,” yeonjun complimented the younger boy. “And it would be totally funny! I bet that stiff and quiet boy would get totally flustered if you started throwing cheesy one liners at him,” yeonjun laughed, slapping a knee.

Wait...yeonjun has got a point.

Beomgyu crossed his arms over his chest, surprised with himself that he’s honestly contemplating this. He really wants to see taehyun’s flushed face. 

Maybe it was worth a shot?   
~

Beomgyu happily skipped over to the row of desks, sitting in front of taehyun with his famous mischievous smirk. 

He waited for taehyun to notice him and look up from his phone, but the blond boy clearly ignored him, purposely not giving him the time of day. 

So beomgyu decided to just go for it. 

“Are you a dictionary?” he asked taehyun, trying hard not to snicker. 

The unexpected question caught taehyun off guard, and he actually looked up from his phone with a blank stare. He blinked and waited for beomgyu to continue, not bothering to say anything. 

Ok...well, beomgyu was off to a rocky start but he can easily bounce back from this. He’s just grateful he has taehyun’s attention at all. He's been admiring the other boy secretly every time they had this class together.

“Because you are adding meaning to my life,” beomgyu finished with a flawless grin. Despite the embarrassing situation, he was shameless. You cant embarrass someone who doesn't know the definition of shame. 

Taehyun looked bored, and then glanced back down to his phone, easily dismissing beomgyu. 

Beomgyu huffed. He hates being ignored, especially by someone as pretty as taehyun. 

Ok, round two.

He slapped his hand over taehyun’s phone, being especially annoying now. 

“Even if there wasn't gravity on earth-”

“Let me guess. You’d still fall for me?” taehyun finished for him, stealing the words right from beomgyu’s mouth. 

Beomgyu’s mouth was semi-open, not sure what to say now. 

Taehyun giggled at the dumb look on beomgyu’s face, and it was the cutest thing beomgyu has ever heard in his life. 

“That was just a lucky shot,” beomgyu replied, finally regaining his sense of wit. 

“I doubt it,” taehyun smirked confidently, and damn, beomgyu thinks he just fell a little bit in love. 

“Ok then, Mr. smarty-pants. Are you a camera? Because-”

“Every time you look at me, you smile?” taehyun finished for him again, an arrogant brow raised that looked sexy as hell on him. 

Beomgyu gritted his teeth, his competitive side coming to the surface. He slapped his other hand on taehyun’s area and half stood up. “Someone should call the police, because-”

“I just stole your heart?” taehyun quickly finished. 

“Dammit!” beomgyu cursed, making taehyun laugh even more, his bored eyes finally showing some interest and spark in them. 

Beomgyu was about to throw another one at him, because he was petty like that, but the professor walked in and told everyone to shut the hell up because class was starting. Beomgyu was forced to grumble his way back to his seat, inadvertently admitting defeat...this time. 

But hey, at least he got to talk to the really cute blond kid he’s been crushing on all semester. 

~

“Say ahhhh,” yeonjun said, holding out a spoonful of flan pudding. He leaned closer, intending to feed soobin directly from the pudding he proudly made in cooking club. 

Hueningkai bumped yeonjun out of the way, grabbing his own spoon and dipping it into yeonjun’s pudding he worked hard on. “Here comes the airplane hyung, vroommmm,” hyuka said with a giggle. 

Soobin rolled his eyes but took the bite of flan from hyuka and ate it. His eyes lit up as he tasted it. “Wait, this is actually really good!” he exclaimed happily, clapping his hands. 

Yeonjun melted at the look of joy on soobin’s face, his dimples coming out. But then he realized that soobin complimented  _ his _ pudding that _hyuka_ fed him. 

“Hey! I was the one who made it! Get outta here and let me feed soobin!” yeonjun hissed, shoving hyuka out of the way again. 

“Yeah but soobinnie hyung would much rather get fed by someone as cute as me,” hyuka laughed. 

Soobin smirked at their obvious rivalry, and leaned forward to take the bite from yeonjun’s spoon, giving the older boy a heated look as he licked it clean. 

“I don't mind being fed by the both of you as long as i get to finish the entire thing of pudding.”

Yeonjun and hueningkai both looked at each other. 

Oh, well in that case…

~

“Do you have a map? Because-”

“You just keep getting lost in my eyes?” taehyun snickered. 

“That’s not fair! Stop doing that!” beomgyu yelled in their chemistry lecture two days later. 

“Cant help it that you are predictable beomgyu,” taehyun laughed softly, nonchalantly flicking through his notes. 

Oh... why does beomgyu’s heart do a little flip after hearing his name on taehyun’s lips?

“Ok you little brat, how about this one,” beomgyu hissed like a snake. “Are you tired? Because-”

“I’ve been running through your mind all day?” taehyun finished, his lips twitching from the growl of frustration beomgyu let out in front of him. 

Beomgyu was not a quitter though. 

“Did it hurt when you fell from the vending machine?” he began.

Taehyun flicked his gaze up directly into beomgyu’s eyes. “Because im a snack?” he answered smoothly without missing a beat.

The professor walked in, and beomgyu was out of time to talk to taehyun. 

He childishly took taehyun’s notebook out from under him and closed it, losing taehyun’s page. Then he scattered his pens across his desk in a mini temper tantrum. 

He stomped off in a huff. Taehyun giggled at his antics, easily opening his notebook back up to the page he was on before, his eyes lingering on beomgyu’s back as he plopped himself back down into his seat from across the lecture room. 

“You really suck at flirting,” yeonjun laughed, hiding behind hyuka when beomgyu went to punch his arm. 

“Says the boy who has a massive crush on two people,” beomgyu grumbled under his breath. 

“Shit, you’re right,” yeonjun whispered, his eyes widening at the revelation. 

Beomgyu ignored him the rest of class. Yeonjun was such an idiot.

~

The following week, beomgyu waited patiently outside their chemistry classroom. He chuckled evilly to himself when his target was finally in place. He stuck his foot out and watched without remorse as the person coming out of the main doorway tripped, falling slightly and dropping a few notebooks.

Beomgyu wasn’t totally evil though. He bent down to help the blond boy pick up his books. When their hands met, he glanced up at taehyun from under his dark bangs and lashes. He knows he looks pretty when he does this. 

Taehyun was momentarily dazed, until beomgyu opened up his big fat mouth. 

“Can i tie your shoe? Because-”

“You cant have me falling for anyone else?” taehyun finished quickly. 

Beomgyu’s charming smile immediately dropped. “You are such a piece of shit!” 

Taehyun laughed at his outburst, quickly grabbing his stuff and walking away to his next lecture. Beomgyu decided to follow, determined and stubborn.

At this point, beomgyu didn't have a brain-to-mouth filter working, and he just blurted everything he could. 

“Everyday i fall in love with you more and more. Except yesterday. Yesterday you were pretty annoying,” he shot at taehyun, smirking in triumph when he finally got out the entire cheesy pickup line without taehyun interrupting. 

Taehyun stopped in his tracks, looking at beomgyu like he just grew five heads, his eyes wide. 

“What?” beomgyu asked dumbly, but then realized what he just said. 

Oh shit. He just kind of confessed, didn't he?

however, beomgyu was an opportunist, not wasting a second of this moment. 

“Your lips look lonely. Would they like to meet mine?” he asked, looking up at taehyun with a cheeky smile. 

“Okay,” taehyun whispered. 

Wait, beomgyu totally didn't expect that answer at all. He expected something snarky or witty being thrown back at him. 

“Holy shit, are these actually working?” beomgyu asked excitedly, getting closer to taehyun and crowding him. 

“Maybe,” taehyun mumbled, looking away with a slight shyness that beomgyu wasn't aware taehyun could have. He finds it extremely endearing. 

He decided to take his chances, grinning like a mad man. “Your hand looks heavy, let me hold that for you,” he said, reaching forward and brushing his fingertips against taehyun’s. Taehyun easily let him intertwine their fingers, his lips forming such a pretty smile.

Beomgyu leaned into taehyun's personal space even more so that their faces were so close, but not close enough. “Excuse me pretty boy, but do those smiles come with kisses?” he laughed, keeping up the silly one liners. “Do you know what you really look beautiful in? My arms,” he finished as he circled his other arm around taehyun’s waist and pressed him closer into his body. 

Taehyun giggled, lightly hitting beomgyu’s chest. “Stop it, this is so embarrassing. I cant believe i actually like this.” 

Beomgyu brought their joined hands up to his lips. “Roses are red and violets are blue...gosh, i just really wanna kiss you,” he said cutely, showing his cheeky smile as he kissed the back of taehyun’s hand softly. 

“Stoppppp,” taehyun laughed, trying to wriggle his hand away from beomgyu’s lips, and then flicked his eyes to their joined hands.

His smile quickly faded, and beomgyu flicked his gaze back down to see what the problem was. 

His red thread was glowing bright crimson, reflecting in his dark eyes for a moment before he tightened his arm around taehyun’s waist. 

They both locked eyes, recognition in their facial features.

He pulled taehyun in closer, kissing taehyun deeply, desperately, and taehyun kissing back just as much when suddenly-

~

Beomgyu blinked awake, his face wet with tear stains. He brought his hand up, dabbing at his cheek in confusion about the wetness. 

Oh.

He was crying again.

But why?

He rolled over on his side, too exhausted and emotionally drained to bother getting a tissue to wipe the tears away. 

He must have had another nightmare again. 

Yeah...that must be it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im so sorry, this was supposed to be a oneshot, but now there are four chapters.


	3. His Last Ultimatum

“Are you sure you’re doing ok?” soobin asked beomgyu. He reached out to place a hand on beomgyu’s shoulder, but beomgyu shrugged it off. The gesture made soobin frown slightly. 

“Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit tired, you know how it goes,” beomgyu deflected. He will admit he is in a bit of a bad mood, but it wasn't soobin’s fault. Hyuka also gave him a worried look from his spot on soobin’s other arm, peeking around the taller boy’s shoulder to study beomgyu more closely. 

“You haven't been sleeping well,” soobin noted, trying to push the issue just a little.

“Not really,” beomgyu mumbled, stepping around people in the crowded hallway. They only had a few minutes until their psychology lecture was going to start.

“Sometimes when yeonjun has a hard time sleeping, i make him some tea that has chamomile in it,” hyuka supplied helpfully. “That boy has so much pent up energy its ridiculous!” 

“Hey, that’s a great idea,” soobin said. “Its at least worth a shot, you know?” he aimed the question back at beomgyu. 

Beomgyu sighed, fixing his hair. “Yeah, i wont deny that it could be helpful. Maybe ill get some and try it out tonight or something,” he told the other two so that they would stop worrying. This is why he tries to hide his nightmares and insomnia as best he can from soobin. Once soobin knows you aren't doing well, he goes into total mother hen mode along with yeonjun. They are literally perfect for each other. And don't even get beomgyu started on hyuka. That boy eats up the attention he receives from the two older ones. 

He decided to speed up his walking, shuffling past people and getting away from soobin before he starts making him eat soup or checking his temperature or something ridiculous. He side stepped some random person, just barely missing them, which unfortunately caused him to bump into someone else right in front of him coming in the opposite direction.

"Oof, sorry," beomgyu said, patting the other person and making sure they were steady on their feet.

There he was met with a brief glimpse of blond hair and a gorgeous face.

The person froze, also studying beomgyu's face briefly, before blinking and snapping back to reality.

"It's alright," the other boy said, stepping away and speed walking away from beomgyu within seconds. 

Beomgyu was left with cold empty arms now that the other boy was quickly melting into the crowd behind him.

A growing sensation of panic and anxiety swelled inside his chest, causing him to whip his head back around. He could just barely make out the other boy's blond hair, and soon it will be lost forever.

He needs to _go,_ he needs to move his feet and chase after him. He doesn't know why, but he knows he will regret it if he doesn't.

"Wait!" Beomgyu yelled, rushing past the other students in the crowded hallway. 

"Beomgyu? What's the hold up?" Soobin called out after him, but beomgyu didn't hear. He started pushing other students out of his way, not caring about the few shouts and grunts of irritation from them.

He almost lost sight of the blond haired boy far up ahead. The guy was practically running, and beomgyu was about 80% sure it was intentional. 

But beomgyu was stubborn and persistent. He sped up, full on sprinting now, just catching a glimpse of blond hair turning a corner down a separate hallway in the building. He's not in this building often on campus since his psychology class is only once a week, so he honestly has no idea where he was going. He was just following where his footsteps were taking him, almost like he was being pulled taut on a string towards this mysterious person. 

Finally, after many steps later, beomgyu caught up to him. Or maybe the other boy wanted him to catch him, he wasn't sure. But without hesitation, beomgyu reached out a hand, and gripped the other's hand... not necessarily harshly but it was tight, holding on so that he couldn't escape again. 

They were somewhat alone now, in a hallway with very few classrooms. Beomgyu's skin tingled and hummed from where it was touching the other's. The blond boy still had his back turned, and beomgyu so desperately wants to see his face up close. 

They paused like this for a few seconds, beomgyu just holding on to the other's hand, and the other boy just letting him. His shoulders were moving slightly, probably from trying to catch his breath also.

"Have we...met before?" Beomgyu whispered, confused and his heart hopeful. Why was his reaction so strong towards this boy? This was more than just physical attraction, or fascination. This was far beyond it. He needs to be near this person, he wants to touch him and feel him so badly it was agony. 

Finally,  _ finally _ , the boy began to turn around and beomgyu waited with bated breath. What he saw took his breath completely away.

The boy was beautiful,  _ breathtaking _ , everything beomgyu has ever wanted, ever dreamed of. 

He had wide brown eyes outlined with gentle lashes. He had a sharp nose and angular jawline, with full and perfectly shaped lips. He would be considered handsome from afar. But up close, in beomgyu's eyes, no matter how hard this boy tried to be handsome and manly, he was inexplicably pretty. He was soft in all the right places, giving him a certain beauty that no other could compare to. 

Beomgyu's body moved on its own, and soon he found himself backing the other boy into the wall outside one of the empty classrooms. The boy moved with him without any fight at all, letting himself be pressed against the wall. They locked eyes, never breaking contact with one another. Heat and longing and a strong intensity was noticeable in both pairs. 

The other boy's breathing was rapid now, and its not because he was running earlier. 

Beomgyu was surprised by his strong reaction to this stranger. He is a human with manners, respecting another person's space. But he couldn't help himself this time. He can't help the way his fingers ache to touch, to hold, to bring himself closer to this boy. 

"I feel like I've known you before," he rasped out, wanting so eagerly to press his body against the other, but being aware that it might be going too far. 

The pretty boy licked his lips, and beomgyu's eyes dilated, flicking down to them, not missing the gesture.

"Me too," the boy finally replied, his voice almost musical to beomgyu's ears. He reached forward, searching for beomgyu's hand. He found what he was looking for and slid his fingers in-between the spaces of beomgyu's fingers. He searched beomgyu's eyes, trying to see if he was overstepping his boundaries as strangers. 

Beomgyu welcomed the touch, glad that they were somehow on the same page.

"Why were you running from me, hyunnie?" Beomgyu asked, tightening his hand with taehyun's. He didn't even realize the slip of his tongue. The nickname was so familiar, he didn't even have to think about it. To his knowledge, they have never met before...

"I don't know," taehyun whispered. "I was afraid I was imagining things. Afraid of how much I feel for you, a random boy I bumped into in the hallway, and I was scared by how intensely I wanted to touch you. So I ran, before I did something stupid." 

"It's the same for me too," beomgyu murmured, finally leaning in close so that his body was pressed against taehyun's into the wall. He brought their faces closer, just a small space between them. "Is this ok?" He asked, still trying to keep himself and taehyun respectful. 

"More than ok," taehyun breathed, a pretty sigh of utter bliss and content leaving his lips. He seemed to melt against beomgyu.

Beomgyu brought their joined hands up to his lips, kissing taehyun's knuckles, and then pressing their hands to the wall next to taehyun's head, pinning him in place. He slowly moved closer, and taehyun held his breath, not daring to move for fear all of this would disappear. 

"Why do I feel so strongly for you?" Beomgyu wondered out loud, angling his head so that the tip of his nose skimmed across the skin of taehyun's neck. Taehyun's heart was about to beat out of his chest, his pulse racing and his entire body on fire. 

"Why do I want to touch you so badly, like I can't get enough?" Beomgyu whispered, his lips moving lightly down the side of taehyun's jaw, committing the feel to memory. 

Taehyun leaned his head against the wall, his eyes half lidded with lust, and small pants leaving his lips. He angled his neck slightly to the side, giving beomgyu more access, a silent permission to continue, to never stop. 

"Why do I want to hold you close?" Beomgyu asked, leaving a trail of kisses down taehyun's neck and across the top of his collarbone. He let his tongue swirl briefly, sucking lightly on a spot that made taehyun hum in pleasure. His other hand greedily searched for any physical contact with him, trailing his fingertips softly down taehyun's arm, and then making its way to taehyun's waist. Then he gripped tight, aligning their bodies even better.

"Please…" taehyun whispered. "Please don't stop," he asked him desperately. 

"I've never felt this way before. I've never acted like this with anyone before…" beomgyu kissed the other side of taehyun's neck, making his way back up with his lips, scraping his teeth under his ear and sucking another spot, leaving a mark. Taehyun's stomach twisted in fire, a strong need burning throughout his body. "Why do I feel so possessive over you?" Beomgyu wondered.

Beomgyu trailed his lips along the underside of taehyun's jaw, until finally he was back where he started. He leaned in slightly, and taehyun waited. 

Their noses touched, and beomgyu was close but not close enough. Taehyun was growing impatient. He surged forward, slowly connecting to beomgyu. Their lips just barely brushed each other, taehyun noting that beomgyu's was as soft as petals, and so familiar, and wonderful, and-

Beomgyu was about to deepen the kiss, his eyes just starting to close so that he could immerse himself fully into this moment, into the feel of taehyun's body finally pressed against his after waiting  _ so long _ , into the hunger that was raging throughout his bones from finally being able to taste taehyun like he's always wanted. 

But before his eyes closed, he glanced one last time to their still-joined hands against the wall.

There, wrapped around their small pinky fingers, was a vibrant red thread. It tangled and wound itself around their wrists and down their arms. 

Beomgyu's eyes widened in shock, and horror. 

He remembers now, he remembers what this thread meant, what he came here to do, what taehyun means to him. 

He was about to tell taehyun, to grip him tighter, to never let him go before-

~ 

Beomgyu gasped awake from his sleep, sweat covering his face and soaking his shirt. He was breathing heavily, barely able to catch his breath. 

He can't remember why he woke up, only that he feels like crying, or screaming, or both.

He needed some water. Maybe that will help calm down his nerves.

He got up and padded over to his mini fridge, grabbing a water bottle and untwisting it with a quick snap.

He chugged it, letting the cool water travel down his throat, until there was nothing left. 

"You okay?" Soobin asked, a bit groggy from being woken up. Beomgyu wasn't exactly being quiet this time.

"No," beomgyu admitted, his lower lip trembling.

~

Beomgyu bumped into someone while walking on the side of the street. It was raining really bad out, and he had his umbrella, which barely covered him enough to not get wet. 

Oddly enough, he didn't mind getting wet from the rain. It was still warm out, and the sound was soothing and calming to his tired and chaotic mind.

"Sorry," a voice said, apologizing for brushing up against beomgyu as they passed each other on the street.

"It's no problem," beomgyu replied back nonchalantly, not even bothering to look behind him at the stranger as he continued walking home. He was beyond exhausted and just wanted to curl up in his bed and maybe let soobin brush his fingers through his hair and hum the latest pop song he's into these days.

But then, the voice suddenly felt familiar to him, making him pause and look over his shoulder. He swung in the direction the other went in, his umbrella dripping rain all around.

The blond haired boy got on the bus, just making it in time. Beomgyu stared at his side profile, suddenly fascinated by him, like he's seen him before. 

The bus began to drive away, and beomgyu lost sight of it. He sighed, turning back and walking again in the opposite direction towards his dorm. He brought his hand up to help shift the straps of his bookbag tighter.

And then he noticed it.

A red string tied prettily around his pinky finger.

His body grew cold, and his chest started to constrict, almost as if he was about to hyperventilate. 

Immediately he swung back towards the direction the bus left in. His string pulled and tangled, following the path that the boy took. 

But once again, this time he was too late. Once again, he couldn't be with taehyun.

He was frozen in shock and fear when he heard the distant echo of a large vehicle's breaks screeching and then crashing.

Beomgyu's eyes began to sting and water, his vision turning blurry from the tears he was about to shed. 

~

"No!" Beomgyu shouted, sitting up in bed and holding his chest. 

Soobin startled awake, rolling over and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. “Beomgyu?” he called out into the darkness. 

Beomgyu ignored him, holding his head in his hands. 

“I'm sorry,” he apologized on a ragged whisper. “I'm so sorry I'm like this,” he continued, even after soobin tried to gently talk to him and tell him it was alright. That it wasn't his fault. 

He continuously felt like his world was collapsing, shattering, even breaking. He cant describe it in any other way. 

Soobin held his hand, rubbing soft circles on the back of it. Beomgyu let him, just staring at his smallest finger in a daze. Instead of fighting the pain, instead of fighting the fear he usually feels, he decided for once to embrace it. To grip onto the small whispers of thoughts that barely remained from his dreams each time he wakes up. 

_ Just how many times will we meet before we are together again? _

The words rang out from somewhere deep inside of him. He held onto those words, and he didn't let go of them. He was tired of pretending like everything was okay, when he clearly knew it wasn't. 

~

It was holiday, and beomgyu was finally heading home to daegu. In truth, he could have stayed on campus like yeonjun, soobin, and hyuka, but he figured he needed a change of scenery to help clear his mind. He was wracking his brain and driving himself insane trying to remember what his nightmares were about. 

The harder he tried, the more his head hurt. But it seemed to be working. He just gets fleeting thoughts every now and then that make no sense at all. 

Staring out onto the subway train he was riding, something caught his eye. 

There, across from where he was standing, on the other side of the train, was a very cute blond stranger. Beomgyu tried to get a closer look without being creepy, but he doesn't think he was entirely successful. The boy’s side profile was striking, and he maybe might have developed a small crush on the good looking male. 

Unfortunately, his stop was first. He needed to switch trains at this station, so he walked closer to the doors of the subway and waited for it to stop and open up. 

Beomgyu sadly and reluctantly stepped off the train, a frown on his face from leaving the cute boy so soon. However, before the train took off again, he looked over his shoulder one last time, and could almost swear he saw the boy also watching him through the window. 

_ Let's be together forever, not apart for even a second. _

About twenty minutes later, while he was boarded on his second train, beomgyu and the rest of the passengers got the announcement. They were going to be severely delayed due to the other train malfunctioning and crashing. As of right now, it didn't look like there would be a lot of survivors. 

Beomgyu’s eyes widened, shock taking over his entire body. He doesn't know why he was so frightened, he didn't see the subway train crash. He wasn't unlucky enough to see that sort of tragedy happen. He didn't even know anybody on that train.

So why does he feel like his heart just got ripped out of his chest? Why are his hands shaking uncontrollably?

Why is he crying so badly, like he just lost someone so very important to him? 

He tried to steady his hands and keep the panic from bubbling to the surface, and that’s when he sadly saw the red thread of fate around his little finger. 

He cried as he noticed the thread start to fray in the middle. 

_ As long as you’re next to me, it doesn't matter what we face. _

~

Beomgyu sat up abruptly, ripping the blankets from his body. He didn't even take in a lungful of air or try to get some water this time. 

He immediately began to cry, loud and heartbreaking sobs leaving his lips.

The sound alerted soobin, who was sleeping soundly across the room in his own bed. The older boy immediately got up, walking to beomgyu and kneeling on the ground right by the edge of his bed so that they were eye level.

"Beomgyu, you can't keep suffering like this. The nightmares are getting worse. This is what? The tenth time this month?" 

Beomgyu brought his shaky hands up to cover his face, just crying and crying. He made horrible gasping sounds as he tried to suck in some breath in between the sobs, and soobin almost cried too. He felt terrible and helpless. He hated seeing beomgyu suffer like this night after night. 

Soobin got up from off the floor and sat on the bed, leaning over to wrap beomgyu into a warm hug. He patted his back, hoping to calm the other boy down.

"Maybe we can talk about it? That might make you feel better," soobin suggested.

Beomgyu sniffed, the tears still flowing and staining soobin's shirt. He shook his head. "Hyung, I can't remember that much," he rasped out. His breathing was starting to settle, and he clung to soobin like a lifeline.

"Then why do you keep crying?" Soobin wondered.

"I-I don't know," beomgyu stuttered. "I just wake up feeling so very sad. Like there's this big gaping hole in my chest, and I can't breathe." 

Soobin didn't reply, pursing his lips into a tight line.

"I feel like I'm missing something. Like a piece of myself is incomplete….And I don't know how to get it back,” beomgyu said with a broken whisper.

_ Being by your side, that’s more important than anything else in this world. _

~

_ This thing called fate is unfair. The eternity that has been given to us is not enough. _

As the days go by, beomgyu thinks he sees taehyun, a familiar face always passing by in his world, but he was unable to remember. Until he _does_ remember, and then the feeling of hopelessness that has plagued him becomes so much worse. 

Finally he starts to get a clue, he tries so hard to piece everything together each time he wakes up from a nightmare. He starts to see that things aren't quite what they seem. Almost nightly he breaks down, holding his head in his hands, flashes of taehyun always swarming his mind.

And then finally one night, he looks up into soobin’s worried face, tears in his eyes. 

And at long last he could put into words what he was feeling, what he was forgetting, what he was  _ losing _ repeatedly in a never ending cycle. 

Soobin listened to him with a sad and knowing smile, his own eyes stinging from emotion. 

Beomgyu has lost a love that almost was…

And the knowledge of that makes it hurt so much more. 

~

Beomgyu decided to skip classes today. He just cant bring himself to go and pretend like he feels okay. 

It was raining outside, a gentle and warm rain that for some reason feels nostalgic and familiar. He has the sudden urge to walk through that rain, so he left his dorm room without telling anyone. 

He went down to the river, crossing the massive bridge for pedestrians to walk across. He didn't even care that his umbrella let some rain soak his hoodie. 

Reaching up to adjust his hood better, something red caught his eye. He looked over and noticed his thread, barely there, frayed and unraveling. And like many times before, he remembered. 

He dropped his umbrella onto the ground, not even bothering to pick it up again. 

Beomgyu gripped the edge of the bridge until his knuckles were white, the rain pouring down on him relentlessly, his tears mixing with the raindrops, his dark bangs curling.

His eyes stared at the red thread around his little finger, the cute bow mocking him, his vision blurry. Then he looked up, his eyesight following the string, watching it tug far away from him into the gray and cloudy sky. 

A heart wrenching sob escaped his lips, his string of fate tangled far away. His eyes could see everything now, and in front of him were thousands of other strings, crisscrossing and wrapping around his own, suffocating it until it will finally one day break. 

It was a barricade between he and taehyun, an impossible wall, endless obstacles that were keeping them apart. It would take him countless lives, countless cycles of rebirth to navigate through the endless maze of red threads so that he could finally reach taehyun. 

Beomgyu shut his eyes, his heart breaking. He wants to see taehyun so badly, so desperately, it felt like he was drowning. He swallowed the lump in his throat and then opened his eyes again. 

This can't go on. He can't take anymore of this. 

He tugged on his thread, the string still taut and tight, leading far far away from where he was standing on the bridge. Then he wrapped his hand around it a few times, the thread sharp like thin steel, burying itself into his skin. 

With determined eyes, he looked out into the sky and clouds, red clashing with gray. 

He's made up his mind. 

His body moved without much thought and he easily climbed to the top of the railing to the bridge. He balanced perfectly on it, his converse shoes peeking over the side of it. The rain and wind continued to beat down on him, but he paid it no mind. 

This was no longer human beomgyu looking out at all of the red threads, this was the pure-souled beomgyu now. The laws of the human world no longer applied to him. After forcing himself to be reincarnated and interrupting the cycle of rebirth, he was no longer like the others. 

Well fine.

If he can't be with taehyun in this life, then he will just meet him again in the next one. And the next after that. As many times as it takes. 

Down below him a paper boat sailed across the river, but his fearless and piercing eyes were instead to the sky. 

Without looking down, he began to tip forward.

"No!" Someone yelled, gripping onto the sleeve of beomgyu’s hoodie, stopping him from continuing. 

Yeonjun.

"Yeonjun let me go," beomgyu told him calmly. “It's not what you think," he reassured him. He knows what this must look like to any bystanders walking by, but really they would never understand. They cant see what he sees. They don't remember what he remembers. 

Yeonjun gripped his wrist desperately, his breathing coming out in pants. His skin was cold against beomgyu's and slick from the rain. 

"Beomgyu no, don't do this."

"Yeonjun, please," beomgyu closed his eyes, summoning the patience. He easily turned around on the ledge, looking down at yeonjun, his back to the river and the sky.

"There has to be another way-" yeonjun began.

"I already told you, its not what you think-"

"We can find another way to get to taehyun," yeonjun finished, causing beomgyu to blink down at him with a stunned expression.

"How did you-" 

"Soobin and I, we cut our thread," yeonjun told him abruptly, blinking the raindrops from his lashes as he looked up at beomgyu. 

"What?" Beomgyu asked quietly with disbelief. 

"We love each other, but we also love someone else just as much." 

"Hueningkai," beomgyu breathed out.

"Hyuka didn't have a thread. He's a pure soul, just like you. Soobin and I were already chosen by Fate, but we wanted  _ more. _ We were selfish. So we somehow remembered, cut our thread, and tied each end to hyuka and ourselves. Fate was furious. We got kicked out of there. The same might happen to you,” Yeonjun told him worriedly. 

It was silent while beomgyu took all of that in. The rain drowned out the noises of the rest of the world so it was just the two of them.

Finally beomgyu spoke up, his eyes full of pride and adoration at what soobin and yeonjun did.

"Do you regret it?" Beomgyu asked him softly.

Yeonjun snapped his mouth shut, staring up at beomgyu with wide eyes.

"No, we don't," yeonjun replied, speaking for both soobin and himself. 

"Then you must understand where I'm coming from hyung," beomgyu smiled sadly. 

Yeonjun's grip loosened, defeat sagging in his shoulders.

"I love him so much," beomgyu admitted.

"I know you do," yeonjun said, finally completely letting him go. "it's just...I was hoping there was another way. I'm going to miss you. All of us will."

"Nonsense, I'll come back and see you eventually. Maybe in another lifetime." 

"Sure," yeonjun smiled a watery smile at him, his lips quivering. They both know it probably won't happen.

"Goodbye hyung. Until next time," beomgyu promised. 

And then beomgyu tipped backwards with a sad but loving smile on his face. He looked at yeonjun one last time, and all he saw next was the sky filled with red thread. 

~

He woke up in his bed with a gasp. The string still tied to his pinky but the thread just barely there in the middle.

He dropped from the bed in his haste to get back up, and he was filled with such dread. 

"No!" He cried out, banging his hand on the floor. "No, no, no!" 

Soobin slowly got up, having been awoken from beomgyu’s shouting. He slipped to the floor next to him, his hand rubbing up and down his arm in the form of comfort. 

“I'm so sorry,” was all he said. 

He didn't have to say anything more. 

~

The answer was quite simple. 

If taehyun was fated to be ripped apart from beomgyu over and over again, then beomgyu will simply eliminate himself instead. 

Clearly doing it on his own wouldn’t work. Fate wont let that happen. It wasn’t his fate to suffer. 

But what was the point in living if he couldn't be with the person that mattered to him the most?

Beomgyu was a pure soul, something all the others considered precious and beautiful. He needs to be protected and loved.

But what about what beomgyu thinks?

Why can't beomgyu protect and shelter and love someone just as much as he is? 

So here we are, right in this moment. 

Beomgyu didn't move from his spot. 

He had plenty of time to get out of the way. Afterall, it wasn't his fate to die. 

The lights came up fast, the car unable to stop in time, the tires skidding in the rain slicked road. 

Beomgyu stood very still, until the next thing he knew he was on his back on the cold concrete, lying in the rain. His entire body was numb, but he didn't care. In his hand was a crumpled paper boat, the boat's long journey finally over with now.

He faced the sky, the rain drops mercilessly covering his face, clinging to his pretty lashes and scattering in his dark wavy hair. Everything was silent except the soft pitter patter of the drops falling all around him. 

It seemed like time was slowing down, like the water drops were falling in slow motion, his heart’s pulse traveling at a snail's pace throughout his body, the world waiting on the edge of its seat for every new breath beomgyu was able to fill his lungs. 

His heart slowed inside his chest. It was getting harder and harder to breathe.

Still, his eyes were as piercing and fierce as ever. Despite the pain, despite his life slowly leaving him, beomgyu smirked up at the gray clouds.

Was Fate watching him? Can Fate see him in this life-changing moment?

What will Fate do now, when this most precious pure soul dies right in front of all of them? What will happen when the world loses a treasure? 

Before he lost consciousness, beomgyu twisted his wrist and wrapped his thread around his hand and fingers, gripping it extremely tight. He needed that extra reassurance that it was still there, that taehyun was still tied to the other end. His little finger wasn't enough for him, he wants this thread chained to him, he wants it so tight so that there was no hope of ever being untangled from his body, he wants the thread to dig so harshly into his skin it leaves permanent marks. He will make sure his and taehyun's thread will be the strongest the universe has ever seen. 

The thread glowed a beautiful vibrant crimson, taehyun’s favorite color. 

Without blinking, beomgyu's eyes finally faded and dimmed. The smirk never left his lips as he no longer breathed on this earth. 

The rain grew heavier, almost as if the world was crying out at the terrible loss of a pure soul no longer existing. 

This was Beomgyu's last ultimatum. His final challenge. 

It was Fate's turn now to make the next move. 


	4. I'm Waiting

Beomgyu blinked his eyes open, his head confused and a little groggy. The sky was gray and cloudy above him, with rain gently drizzling down onto his face. He was still lying on his back, the soft and green grass all soggy and gross under his body. His dark bangs stuck to his forehead like glue, and he was beyond soaked through.

A blonde figure obscured his vision, and he decided to focus on the face right in front of his. 

He smiled, his heart thumping a bit in his chest.

"Taehyun…" he breathed out on a loving whisper.

But then his eyes widened when he realized what was happening.

Because taehyun’s arm was currently raised up high in the air, paused when taehyun noticed beomgyu finally awake and conscious. 

“Finally! You’re awake!” taehyun said, his deadly hand just a few mere centimeters away from his cheek.

Beomgyu shuffled and sat up the best he could, leaning back on his elbows to try and understand what was happening. He couldnt go far though since taehyun had both of his knees planted on either side of beomgyu’s hips in the grass and his entire body bent over the older boy.

“Wait, were you going to slap me?!” beomgyu questioned. 

Taehyun looked a bit sheepish, his blonde hair wet and in his eyes. “Well yeah. You werent waking up any time soon and i thought i would try like, smacking you awake like you see on television all the time, you know?” then he shrugged. “It was worth a try.”

“Must you always resort to violence for everything?!” beomgyu huffed, shaking the hair out of his eyes. 

“Yes?” taehyun grinned, sitting back onto beomgyu’s thighs comfortably. 

Beomgyu chose to ignore him, looking around. The silver river and lake of reincarnation were right next to him, the last place he was at before this entire nightmare started. 

“Hyunnie, what is going on? Why am i back in this hellhole?” 

“Hey, i heard that,” a familiar voice said off in the distance. It made beomgyu cringe, and taehyun sent a quick glance of annoyance at their company. The cruel version of Fate was grinning and waving to the both of them in a patronizing way. His suit and tie along with his styled hair were still in a perfect state as usual, the rain not daring to touch the otherworldly being. 

“We were brought back to be punished…” taehyun trailed off. He studied beomgyu for a few seconds, his face neutral and the thoughts swirling inside his head. Beomgyu stared back, unsure of what to do or say. This was technically all of his fault. Whatever happens was all because of him. 

And then something shifted, and taehyun’s eyes lit up with fire and something else. He started lightly smacking beomgyu on the shoulder and arm as he finally snapped. 

“What the hell were you thinking?! Do you know how much of a heart attack you gave me when Fate told me you basically k-worded yourself to be with me?! How stupid and irresponsible and-” taehyun huffed, gripping beomgyu’s wet shirt tightly in his fist, his face crumpling a bit at the loving look beomgyu was giving him at the moment. 

“I wanted to be with you. It was as simple as that,” beomgyu said, his gaze piercing and confident and strong, and making taehyun’s heart skip a beat. He’s missed beomgyu so much. 

“That’s stupid. Why would you go to such an extreme just for me?” he muttered, glancing away. “Im not worth it,” he whispered softly. 

Beomgyu grew angry at that, and he reached up to flick taehyun on the forehead. “Shut up, or i will get really really upset. You are worth my everything,” beomgyu insisted in a clear voice. “Dont make me go sappy on you, writing love songs and poems and shit, because so help me i will.”

Taehyun cringed at that, snorting and smiling despite the serious situation they were in. 

It was silent again, except for the sounds of the rain against the leaves and grass. There was so much that beomgyu wanted to say, but he didnt know how to start. 

“Living every day without you was agony,” he whispered. He needed taehyun to see just how much he means to him. He needs taehyun to understand what it was like without him in his life. “We kept meeting, over and over again, only to be torn apart right when i finally had you close. It was beyond torture…”

“It was like that for me too,” taehyun replied back, looking at beomgyu from under his lashes. He was still straddling him, but Beomgyu didnt mind that taehyun was a little bit heavy. 

Beomgyu reached up to trace his cold fingertips along taehyun’s cheek, then cupping his face. Taehyun nuzzled into his palm, moving his lips a little so that he could give beomgyu a quick kiss on his wrist. “And then i would wake up from a nightmare, unable to remember why i felt so hollow inside. I missed you and wanted you so desperately, and i was constantly crying without knowing why. And then i would find you in another life, and remember we were soulmates, and then cry some more.” His eyes stung a little bit. 

“You weren’t the only one,” taehyun muttered, leaning forward onto beomgyu’s chest, his hand still tangled in his shirt. 

“How many lives did i get reincarnated in, but was never able to reach you? How many times did we find each other, and still we were unable to have a happy ending?” beomgyu wondered out loud. 

“I can answer that for you-” Fate started to offer, but they both glared at him again. “Or not...you know, it doesnt really matter anyways,” he chuckled. 

“That bastard over there told me the truth of what it means to be the soulmate of a pure soul. You were going to be tortured and taken from me in each new life we lived. You were going to die over and over again, until our thread was broken. Im so sorry,” beomgyu sniffed. “I didnt know this when i tied our thread. Im so sorry i ever did that, and if i could take it back i would.”

Taehyun stilled at his last words, his entire body tense and unmoving. He leaned away from beomgyu for a second, and squinted his eyes in suspicion. “Are you saying that you regret tying your thread to me?” he asked, his voice deathly quiet. 

“What? No, im saying that you deserve much better than me,” beomgyu argued, unsure of why taehyun looked so angry again. 

“That’s stupid,” taehyun told him. 

“But this is what it has to be. I've decided I'm going to break what’s left of our thread and set you free. You can finally live without the burden of being with a pure soul. Nobody will come after you,” beomgyu smiled sadly, lifting up his hand that was on taehyun’s cheek. The red thread was tied to his pinky finger, and he gripped the area that was really weak, the spot where it was dangerously frayed and barely hanging on. 

Taehyun sucked in a breath, watching with horror as beomgyu took his other hand and was going to pull with all of his strength. 

In a split second, Taehyun tackled beomgyu right before he was about to cut their thread. 

"Ow what the hell?" 

"No! I won't let you break our thread!" Taehyun said stubbornly, pushing beomgyu back flat on the grass and gripping his shirt with both fists now, holding him up by the collar like he was going to beat him up. Their faces were dangerously close. 

Beomgyu stared at him with annoyance, frustrated that he was interrupted while making the most important and heartbreaking decision of his life. "This is for the best! You will get to live happily if you aren't tied to me."

"That's a huge fucking lie. I will  _ never _ be happy if I'm not with you," taehyun told him, his eyes wide and honest. "This feeling between us goes both ways beomgyu. It was never one sided. I love you just as much as you love me, if not more," taehyun was rambling. He was frantic and panic was starting to bubble up inside his chest, needing beomgyu to understand just how important he was to him. "Did I not show it enough? Do I need to convince you harder? Am i not good enough? Did you get sick and tired of me? Tell me what I need to do for you to stay with me," taehyun's eyes watered and stung, he was close to crying. He throttled beomgyu a little bit by the shirt, as if that would give him a quicker answer. 

Beomgyu was shocked, not sure how to process this. This is the first time he's seen taehyun in such a panicked state. Taehyun was always the cool one, the more composed of the two. He handled every situation with a level head. Never before has he seen taehyun red faced and so upset. 

“No to all of those questions. You are perfect for me, in every way possible.” Then Beomgyu reached up, wiping away some of taehyun's tears from his cheek, his hand going around to the back of his neck and pulling him down so that their lips could meet. Taehyun went willingly, sniffing as he kissed back. 

Then taehyun ended the kiss, sitting back up and gripping beomgyu's hand with an iron strength. 

"What are you doing-" 

Taehyun ignored him, taking their thread where it was frayed, and tying another knot around the area.

"Did you just tie another knot into your red thread?" Fate asked, dumbfounded. 

Taehyun glared over at Fate, beyond pissed. "Fuck you, I can do what I want." Then just to spite him, he tied another knot around it, reinforcing it. 

Beomgyu giggled under him, watching taehyun with piercing eyes. He loves this boy so much. 

Once taehyun was satisfied, he nodded his head in approval. "There. Now no bitches can try to break our thread again, or so help me.." he grumbled. 

Then Taehyun got up off of beomgyu without another word, walking farther away from where beomgyu was laying in the grass. He headed for the edge of the silver lake, his back to beomgyu. 

"Wait, where are you going?" Beomgyu asked, for once fear clear in his eyes. 

"I'm going to reincarnate myself. I'll peacefully step out of the way, the less we are together, the better it will be. Our cycle of rebirth was messed up because you forced yourself to be reincarnated early for me. I'll just...restart. As it should have been from the beginning.”

Beomgyu was on his feet in an instant. “No! That literally wont solve anything!” 

“Beomgyu, i already accepted the fact that we were never meant to have a completely happy ending. I knew this...and yet i still wanted to be with you with every single fiber of my being. I thought..” his voice choked up a bit. “I thought as long as i get to see you, then things will be fine, but that wasn’t the case. Maybe if we give each other some space, let a few hundred years pass us by, things will settle down. How does that sound?” taehyun looked over his shoulder, his entire face grim and like he was on the verge of a breakdown. 

“Taehyun, if you step one foot into that water, i will just follow you all over again,” beomgyu threatened. He was dead serious. “I'm not living without you again.”

A sad chuckle left taehyun’s lips. “You are so selfish beomgyu. You cant have it all-”

“And why not?! What’s wrong with wanting you as well as a happy ending for the both of us? What’s wrong with wanting to live out a peaceful life with my soulmate and our friends?” beomgyu was beginning to cry again. “Why cant i journey through life with you by my side? Even if things don't always work out, even if we experience tough and sad times, i still want it all with you!” he brought his hands up to his face and covered his eyes. 

“Because that isn't our fate,” taehyun whispered, which might as well have been a slap to beomgyu’s face. 

The silence stretched on for what seemed like forever. Not even the soothing rain could drown out the horrible pounding of beomgyu’s pulse in his ears.  He brought his hands away from his red and flushed face from crying. Then he walked over to taehyun and hugged him from behind, wrapping his arms securely around taehyun’s waist and pulling him into his chest. 

“Fine, then let’s just not get reincarnated. Let’s run away, together,” he said softly into taehyun’s ear, rubbing his cheek against taehyun’s. “Will you come with me?” 

Taehyun blinked, looking forward at the glimmering lake, his eyes flicking briefly to the river in the distance. His paper boat no longer sailed across the water. It's journey ended, bringing beomgyu to him in this one last final moment. 

His sad lips upturned into a smile, even though beomgyu couldn't see it. 

“Okay,” he answered. Then he turned in beomgyu’s arms so they were facing each other. “Okay,” he said again, reaching up to push some of beomgyu’s hair out of his eyes. They were as fierce as ever, and they held so much affection and love for taehyun, he honestly doesn't know what to do with it all. 

“Alright here’s the plan. I'll go left and then you feign to the right, and he cant catch both of us if we sidestep him,” beomgyu began to ramble, making taehyun laugh out loud, his teeth showing. 

“Are you guys seriously planning to run away from me? You know i can literally still hear you?” Fate said, a slight smirk on his lips and amusement in his eyes. 

“Shut up, i hate you,” beomgyu glared over at him, tightening his arms around taehyun. Fate was going to have to pry this boy from his cold dead hands before he takes him away again. 

Fate rolled his eyes. “You both are the most annoying souls i have ever come across.” But then a thoughtful look crossed his face. “Wait no, i take that back. Those two idiots with the other pure soul is the most annoying. You guys are just the runners up.” 

Taehyun laughed joyfully, understanding he must be talking about soobin and yeonjun, with hueningkai. 

“I dont understand why you are still talking,” beomgyu told him rudely. 

Fate pursed his lips into a thin line. “Ill let that slide, this time.” beomgyu stuck his tongue out at him childishly. 

Then Fate sighed. “Alright beomgyu, I have accepted your challenge. I have heard your heart’s greatest desire. I will allow you to live out your reincarnate lives with your soulmate, no complications. I will keep the other souls away from taehyun. Are you happy now?” 

Beomgyu squinted his eyes in suspicion. “What’s the catch? I know for a fact you arent doing this out of the kindness of your cold dead heart.”

Fate brought a hand up to massage his temple, a headache forming from these two souls. They literally fight him every step of the way, and it was exhausting. They couldnt be more perfect for each other, it was almost sickening. 

“Hey! Sometimes i can be kind. There is no catch, you both have more than proven without a doubt just how much you belong together. When you two are separated, its so heartbreaking that you are honestly making me look bad.” 

Beomgyu and taehyun both just stared at him, a little bit of shock and disbelief on their faces. 

“Really?” taehyun asked in a small voice. 

“Yes yes,” Fate said, shooing his hand at them. “You can live out the rest of your boring days together, all lovey dovey and whatever. You both caused enough problems as it is.”

Beomgyu took a slight offense to that. He frowned. “What problems did we cause  _ you?”  _

Fate looked annoyed, finally losing his patience. “You especially, Choi Beomgyu. You entered the cycle of rebirth before it was your time. That caused a fracture in your timeline with taehyun. You were caught by what could only be described as an endless time loop, and each ‘rebirth’ brought you back to the beginning, where you would finally meet your soulmate. However, instead of just continuing on with your lives like it was meant to be, you both remembered your time as souls and were able to see the red thread, which isnt allowed. Reincarnation would try to fix this, and then the cycle would continue all over again, tearing you both apart.”

“Whoops?” beomgyu offered, not sure what to say to that. 

Fate linked his hands behind his back and looked over to the glowing silver lake. “Your unnatural death was the final straw. I had no choice but to bring you both here in order to rebalance everything.” Even though what he said seemed like it was a serious situation, Fate didnt look as angry as beomgyu thought he would be. 

“Your soul...its quite beautiful,” Fate muttered under his breath, a rare smile ghosting his lips. 

“Because im a pure soul and all of that, i know,” beomgyu sighed, leaning down to bury his face into the crook of taehyun’s neck. Taehyun rubbed his back in comfort while they continued to just stand there under the rain. 

“No,” Fate disagreed. His eyes almost seemed to soften, but the two soulmates didnt notice, too busy comforting each other. “Its even more beautiful now than it was before. Each time you woke up to restart your life, your soul splintered just the tiniest bit. Your soul is no longer as pure and perfect as it used to be. Its flawed, and within those flaws taehyun’s soul filled in the cracks for you. You two really are joined together in every possible way.” 

Taehyun looked back at Fate while hugging beomgyu tighter. It was rare for him to show signs of how possessive he was towards his soulmate. 

Many minutes later, both beomgyu and taehyun were ready to walk across the lake to be reincarnated, this time together. They held hands, and side by side they made their way towards the center. The entire place was lit up with silver. 

“Ill see you soon hyunnie,” beomgyu smiled at taehyun. “Dont forget that i love you!”

“And i love you more,” taehyun replied. 

"I doubt that," beomgyu smirked. 

It was time. 

Just before they slipped through the lake, taehyun turned back around to look at Fate one last time. Only, instead of the younger version, the cruel Fate, it was now the old man. He blinked in shock, but then he smiled at the old man, mouthing out the words,

‘Thank you’ before they both began the cycle of rebirth. 

Fate nodded, his warm and compassionate self waving goodbye to the two souls. 

~

Beomgyu gasped awake, blinking a little bit and trying to remember where he was at the moment. His eyes adjusted to the soft blue morning light, it was barely dawn, and it all came back to him. 

_Oh yeah, he was spending the night over at taehyun’s dorm._

He quickly turned his head, and breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw a familiar face with blonde hair looking back at him. He must have woken taehyun up with all of his thrashing. Taehyun was a light sleeper, unfortunately. 

“Sorry,” beomgyu whispered, his voice deep with sleep. “Did i wake you up? We still have a few hours before our first classes.”

Taehyun smiled, yawning a bit and stretching. They were kind of cramped in his small bed, but neither of them minded. Taehyun prefers it this way. 

He shook his head at beomgyu, and reached to drag him back down so that beomgyu was lying on his side and face barely a centimeter away from him. “You dont have to apologize. Why are you up so early anyways? You rarely ever get up on time,” he chuckled lowly. Beomgyu could feel his warm breath against his face. 

“I had a weird dream,” beomgyu admitted, unafraid of telling taehyun even the most ridiculous of things. Taehyun has always been his safe place, ever since they first met last year in their shared music theory class. Beomgyu was constantly teasing him, stepping on the backs of his shoes to get taehyun’s attention, and even dropped and broke taehyun’s phone when he asked to borrow it one day. That actually was an accident, but it brought them a little closer together while beomgyu tried to pay taehyun back by dragging him to the store to pick out a new one. After that they have never been separated. 

“What kind of dream?” taehyun asked, leaning in to bump noses with beomgyu’s. 

“About us and fate,” beomgyu murmured, closing the space to press a soft kiss to taehyun’s lips. 

“Hmm, and what about us and fate?” taehyun hummed against beomgyu’s lips in between kisses.

Beomgyu brought their hands up from under the covers, interlocking his fingers with taehyun’s. “I dreamt that we were soulmates, connected by the red thread of fate. And that we will never be separated again.” 

Taehyun didnt have a chance to respond for several seconds. He was too busy kissing beomgyu over and over, their breaths mingling and lips melting together to deepen the kiss. 

Finally he pulled away to catch his breath, “that sounds like a beautiful dream,” he smiled. Beomgyu surged forward to trace his lips along taehyun’s jawline and side of his neck, making taehyun’s body become heated pretty quickly. “I hope its true,” he gasped as beomgyu scraped his teeth along his sun-kissed skin. 

“It doesnt matter to me. You’re mine for forever,” beomgyu promised, leaning away to look at taehyun with piercing and fierce eyes. He was serious. 

“And you’re mine. Always will be,” taehyun promised back. Then he kissed beomgyu’s forehead, and nose, and each cheek, and each eyelid, and his chin, making beomgyu giggle lightly. Taehyun loves that sound the most. 

After some moments of just staring at each other and tangling up closer in the blankets, taehyun finally broke the silence. 

“Did you hear how yeonjun and soobin hyung asked hueningkai to be their boyfriend?”

Beomgyu snorted. “ _ Finally. _ They were being so annoying pining after hyuka for months. I wanted to rip my hair out.” 

“I'm glad they are just as happy as us,” taehyun laughed, but then it was cut off with beomgyu’s lips back on his and his fingers buried in his hair to keep him still while he kissed him senseless. 

~

~

~

_ “What are you doing little one?” Fate asked the young blonde boy playing by himself on the river’s edge.  _

_ The boy glanced up at the old man from his spot in the grass, wary and cautious.  _

_ “I'm waiting,” he said. Despite his young age, he was very intelligent.  _

_ This piqued the old man’s interest. “Waiting for what?”  _

_ “I’m not sure, but I'll know it when I see it,” the boy answered him.  _

_ Fate smiled wide. He remained quiet for a few heart beats, just staring out at the river of life gently flowing away from them.  _

_ “You know…” the old man started to say, and the boy quickly flicked his gaze up to him, listening. “You know...it’s said that if you sail a paper boat across the water, it will bring you good luck.” _

_ “How so?” the blonde haired boy asked.  _

_ “The boat resembles one’s journey through life. Your boat will guide you, navigating the waters to the people you were meant to be with, until it finally circles back and ends its long voyage.” _

_ “That’s all very nice, but what good will that do?” the boy sighed, looking out at the water again.  _

_ “You never know,” Fate said with a knowing glint to his eyes. “It just might bring you what you are waiting so desperately for.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof this is the end lol
> 
> I know this might have been a little confusing, but I tried my best! Anyways, I always loved that picture of beomgyu and taehyun connected by a red thread and started writing. 
> 
> I hoped everyone enjoyed this, even if it was just a little bit. Let me know what you think!   
> @eternitxt03  
> curiouscat.me/eternitxt03


End file.
